


Your classes are boring

by thequadraticformula



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Netball - Freeform, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-01
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 19:13:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 19,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22970800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thequadraticformula/pseuds/thequadraticformula
Summary: (University teacher x student AU)SHORT STORIES FROM THE SAME UNIVERSEMiss Im Nayeon's philosophy classes are the worst Tzuyu's ever been to.Chou Tzuyu's antics during Nayeon's classes are driving her to the verge of a break down.Sana likes to fuck the opposing netball team captain, Momo, after a big game.Dahyun just wants to study quietly with her girlfriend Jihyo.Jeongyeon loves Chaeyoung and Chaeyoung loves Jeongyeon but they refuse to tell each other.Mina knows something fishy is going on with her colleague, Nayeon and one of her students. It's time to investigate.WARNING: Sexual references, course language.
Relationships: Chou Tzuyu/Im Nayeon, Hirai Momo/Minatozaki Sana, Kim Dahyun/Park Jisoo | Jihyo, Son Chaeyoung/Yoo Jeongyeon
Comments: 24
Kudos: 189





	1. Fair game | Samo

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I played netball when I was a child. A LONG-ASS TIME AGO. So I have no idea how it works.
> 
> This work is crossposted on Wattpad and Asianfanfics under the user 'thequadraticformula'.  
> DO NOT REPOST THIS WORK.

Sana's eyes were glued to Seulgi, her Centre. She had won the coin toss (by chance of course. Sana had definitely not lent the umpire a rigged coin that would almost always land on heads and no she had not told Seulgi to pick heads no matter what NO MATTER WHAT. That would be irresponsible. That would be cheating, and the Lions never cheated). The Centre of their opposing team stood ready, her hands raised up, waiting for the blow of the umpire's whistle. It just happened to be that Hirai Momo, the captain of the Kawaii Girls, was also the very same Centre, standing in front of Seulgi with a smug look on her face.

She wasn't looking at Seulgi, the ball or the umpire. She did what she always did before a game against the Lions and smirked at Sana, tightening her high ponytail and adjusting her position bib over her pink uniform. She always looked like she had some sort of trick up her sleeve and it drove Sana insane. Even more so, because unlike the Centre who had reign over the whole court, she was the team's Goal Shooter. The ace player but stuck in the first third of the court and unable to follow Momo to the other side to try and trip her over or talk her into submission and resignation.

"We know you rigged the coin." Park Chaeyoung, Momo's Goalkeeper spoke from beside Sana. "Just so you know."

No wonder Momo's face was so evil looking today.

Sana grunted in response, still waiting to the signal. She didn't have the patience to endure a pitiful conversation with her opposing team. The umpire, who just happened to be Park Jihyo (aka _The_ Goody-Two-Shoes™) one of Sana's long-time best friends since high school, raised the whistle to her lips and just before she blew down her eyes locked with Momo's.

She mouthed something that made Sana want to break all the rules (she had forgotten about the coin at this point) and run past her third of the court and strangle her.

_You look beautiful._

What. The. Fuck.

The whistle sounded, but of course, as per usual when Momo decided to tease Sana during a game, Sana's ears didn't want to pick up sound anymore. Not only were her ears out for the count, but her arms too. They felt like jelly. How the hell was she supposed to shoot the winning shot with her arms feeling all... like this?

"SANA WHAT THE FUCK! PAY ATTENTION!" The voice belonged to her Wing Defence, Wendy who had the ball in her hands. It was like the whole court had teleported in a second and Sana had missed all of it. Before she could yell back at her, the ball was hurtling toward her.

She barely managed to catch it before Chaeyoung intercepted. She glued her right foot to the ground, immediately switching to game mode and pivoting until she saw the hoop. She was at the edge of the goal circle, too far away to make a clear shot, especially with Chaeyoung waving her arms around in front of her like a crazed chicken.

In the last two seconds of her three second time limit to hold the ball, she looked ahead and locked eyes with her Goal Attack. Sooyoung was much closer, in a place that she would have predicted her to be. Thanks to their intensive training over the past few months, Sana made the split-second decision to bounce pass below Chaeyoung's arms back to Wendy.

Her feet moved quickly, a practiced route that lead her to an ideal position to pass the ball directly to Sooyoung for a clear shot. Wendy made a chest pass as soon as Sana was in position. Perfect and precise, allowing Sana to pivot and bounce pass to Sooyoung so she could–

"Whoopsies." Just as the ball left her hands, Momo's body floated in like an angel, the ball snatched away as she jumped in front of Sana from one edge of the goal circle to another. Before any of the Lions could think, the ball was suddenly on the other end of the court.

"What?" Sana cried, watching her teammates scramble for the ball, trying in vain to get the ball out of the Kawaii Girl's grip. "That's fucking CHEATING! CENTRES CAN'T DO THAT!" She looked over at Jihyo on the other end of the court and yelled as loud as she could to get her attention.

"PARK JIHYO! WHY DIDN'T YOU PULL THAT UP! THAT WAS CLEARLY CHEATING."

"You rigged the coin, Sana." Jihyo called out, shrugging and returning her attention to the girls on the other end of the court.

Of course, Jennie, the Goal shooter was able to get a goal within thirty seconds. Of course. OF COURSE.

The game remained appalling until the half time mark.

"What kind of a captain ARE you?" Seulgi complained, pulling her bottle from her bag and spraying the water over her face instead of drinking it. Everyone looked at her in silence for a moment before continuing the conversation she had started.

"Yeah, Sana." Dahyun pulled at her Goal Defence bib and frowned slightly. "You really stuffed us up at the beginning there."

"Not to mention the coin toss." Wendy groaned, the others murmuring in agreement.

"Wait a second," Sana started, ignoring her teammates complaints. "Jihyo's your girlfriend Dahyun. Your GIRLFRIEND! Don't we get some sort of bias? Don't we DESERVE a bias?"

"This is why we lose. Every. Time." Irene rolled her eyes, glancing over at the Kawaii Girls with resentment. "You're lucky you're cute or I would have left by now." She added under her breath.

"What was that?" Sana glanced at a blushing Irene who just shook her head slightly, walking over to her bag at the side of the court.

"It was Momo wasn't it." Yeri spoke then and all the Lions turned their heads to look at their opposition. Momo was laughing with her teammates about something, her face bright and happy in that way that always made Sana's insides curl up a bit. "You guys were looking at each other like how Dahyun and Jihyo look at each other when they're feeling frisky."

"HEY!"

"HEY!" Dahyun and Sana protested simultaneously.

"You know what? Just forget that first half." Sana raised her hands up, forcing the image of Momo from her mind.

"What? Forget the 30 to 24 score?" Wendy scoffed.

"That's only a six-point difference. We can make it up."

"Not with you acting like a fool in front of Momo like you're a teenage boy."

"OK! Ok. New plan." Sana gestured for everyone to gather round in a messy circle. She smirked at the brilliant plan (that totally didn't involve cheating) that was forming in her mind. "Seulgi, ignore the goal circles."

"Huh?"

"Actually no. Everyone ignore everything. Free for all."

Sana's team looked at her like she had just taken a shit on the floor in front of them.

"I'm NOT cheating." Dahyun looked as though she was going to cry, crossing her arms tightly around her stomach. She glanced over at Jihyo who stood, waiting for half time to end at the edge of the court.

"We technically already cheated." Sooyoung spoke hesitantly, her expression confused and curious.

"Exactly." Sana smirked, her eyes hovering over Momo. "So, did they. So, what's it to anyone if we cheat a little more? It's not like this game is serious anyway." Momo looked back at her, glancing down slightly and looking at Sana though half lidded eyes. A smirk crossed her features before she started to approach.

"Fuck." Sana breathed. "Act natural." She told the Lions who all sighed.

Momo walked up to Sana so that she stood one metre away from her just like the rules in netball when intercepting the ball. It almost made Sana feel like she was in a game.

"Got something up your sleeve huh?" She spoke, her gaze traveling along Sana's collar bone and making her knees weak. "Is it another rigged coin toss because that's getting old now, Sana."

"None of your business." Sana said, very much like a four-year-old who wanted to defy her mother for no good reason.

"It _is_ my business." Momo folded her arms across her chest. "I'm playing a game against you. You're cheating. I need to know how to one-up you so I can win."

"This is why neither of us are ever allowed into local competitions." Dahyun muttered.

Games between the Lions and the Kawaii Girls always turned into petty fights between the two captains, each of them trying to prove to the other that they were better at cheating. Dahyun knew that today would be nothing new.

"You can never one-up me, Hirai." Sana glowered.

"Tell that to my twelve-game winning streak, Minatozaki."

"Liar." Sana took a step forward, bringing the distance between them down to a mere thirty centimetres. "We fuck you guys up every game. Stop lying to yourself."

Momo laughed at the same time that Sana's teammates groaned for the nth time that day. She leaned forward, the close proximity making Sana's heart double in beats per minute.

"I think you're getting confused with our games after our matches." She spoke seductively.

Anyone who was watching Sana right then would have thought she was going to faint (her teammates didn't care because this was a common occurrence when playing against the Kawaii Girls). Her face flushed from red to white and back to red in a matter of seconds. She felt sweaty and her legs were jelly. She opened her mouth, intending to come back at Momo with some sort of snarky remark, but as usual, she was struck speechless. Momo always left her speechless.

She smiled sweetly as she leaned away, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and tightening her ponytail.

Sana felt someone (Sooyoung) take her by her shoulders and turn her away from the smug looking Momo.

"At least she admitted you win in bed, Sana." She said, patting her back as she led her to the goal circle for the next half of the match to start. Sana's internal monologue swelled with pride. _YES. I AM A TOP._

But her body did not reciprocate.

Thoughts of Momo wouldn't stop raging through her brain, and with thoughts of Momo came a high heart rate, no hand and eye coordination and zero concept of a netball game.

She was so distracted that even Chaeyoung tried to tap her on the shoulder before Jihyo blew on the whistle to start the game. And when the whistle did blow, all hell broke loose.

Now, as much as Dahyun and the other Lions loved netball and following the rules and playing a proper game, when Sana told them to go crazy and forget the rules... they WENT CRAZY.

The whistle left Jihyo's lips and Seulgi lunged at Momo who had started with the ball and snatched it away with a high-pitched squeal of glee. Dahyun, Yeri and Sooyoung jumped around the court in glee while Wendy and Irene just sighed, small smiles playing on their lips.

"PASS HERE!" Dahyun cried, waving her hands around like a mad woman.

Seulgi ran with the ball, almost giving Jihyo an aneurism.

"STEPPING!" She blew the whistle again and again, but Seulgi continued to run to Dahyun, the Kawaii Girls trying their best to get in her way. She threw the ball all of a sudden over her head with two hands (HOW UNORTHODOX) right into Dahyun's waiting hands.

"Sorry Jihyo!" She cried as she ran with the ball, dodging Jennie in the goal circle and positioning herself to shoot.

"WAIT!" Irene cried as Dahyun threw the ball, making a perfect shot into the hoop.

The Lions (aside from Irene and Sana who was still in a catatonic state) cried out in triumph.

"GOAL DEFENCE WHO?" Yeri screamed, crushing Dahyun in a hug.

"Baby did you SEE THAT?" Dahyun turned to look at Jihyo expectantly, like a child waiting for approval from a parent. Jihyo just nodded slowly.

"That was good..." She spoke hesitantly.

"WRONG FUCKING HOOP!" Irene raged; her fists clenched.

Jennie was holding back laughter as the banter between the Lions continued.

Sana was still standing at the other end of the court, her body tingling and her mind completely elsewhere.

"Let's face it. You can only top me in bed, Sana." Momo spoke from beside her. Sana jumped a meter in the air in fright.

"You scared the SHIT outa me!" She cried as Momo laughed at her.

"You suck at netball and that's that." She stated, taking Sana's hand in her own.

Sana's heart leaped when she realised where they were going.

"Let's go do something you're actually good at."

_To be continued..._


	2. Rumours

Dahyun had her earphones in, the noise cancelling turned on and loud classical music (Beethoven) blaring into her ears. Usually she wouldn’t listen to music at all while studying, but of course, she had to agree to meet Chaeyoung. Dahyun was sick of this. Honestly, she was ready to jump out of a window.

Whenever Chaeyoung asked her to ‘study’ with her, it always ended up being a meeting between her and her crush Yoo Jeongyeon with Dahyun third wheeling. _Hard_. They were loud and they told bad jokes and they laughed _all the time_. Now, Dahyun could always say no right? No harm done in that. WRONG. Chaeyoung always insisted and she had that face… that expression that made Dahyun’s heart melt in pity.

_“You can’t leave me with her alone! I might spontaneously combust!”_

Dahyun couldn’t just _leave_ her. So, every second day, she would get dragged by her collar along to the library with Chaeyoung, only to be completely ignored and bothered that she could never EVER get any work done.

She looked up from her laptop to a familiar scene. Chaeyoung doing something stupid – this time she was folding the middle of one of her textbooks into a paper aeroplane – and Jeongyeon laughing and egging her on. Dahyun just wanted to yell at them to kiss and get married already. It was infuriating to watch them tread so delicately around each other when it came to the topic of a relationship. And as much as she hated the way Sana’s and Momo’s relationship only consisted of fucking and ruining every single netball game that they ever played, sometimes Dahyun even wished that Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung could just be like them. _Fuck and get it over with_. It’s not that hard!

It wasn’t long before Dahyun was distracted and she found herself opening her phone to text Jihyo and see where she was at the moment. Maybe they could grab lunch together before their final lectures of the day.

She paused, however when she saw a text from her girlfriend already up on the notifications of her phone.

She stared at it for a little while, unsure of what to make of it.

“Who the hell calls their mum ‘mummy’ these days Dahyun. Grow up!” Chaeyoung sniggered over the music in Dahyun’s earphones which caused her to jump.

She covered the screen of her phone with her hands in an instant and glared at Chaeyoung who was laughing hysterically and Jeongyeon who looked slightly concerned and disgusted at the same time. Dahyun made eye contact with the girl. _Don’t you DARE say anything._ Jeongyeon nodded discreetly and Dahyun sighed. _I really need to change Jihyo’s contact name._

“Firstly,” Dahyun started to speak, kicking Chaeyoung under the table to she would listen. “Don’t look at my texts. That’s rude. Secondly, I have to go now. I’m meeting Jihyo for lunch.”

“Oh, shit wait a minute…” Chaeyoung held a finger up, but Dahyun was quick to take the opportunity to leave as quickly as possible.

“See you guys later!” She gathered her things and power walked away before Chaeyoung could even open her mouth to complete her sentence.

Once she was outside the library and away from her annoying friends, Dahyun called Jihyo and placed the phone to her ear. She picked up immediately.

“I hate you.” Was the first thing that Dahyun said to her and she didn’t regret it when she heard Jihyo’s whiny response.

“Whaaaaat?”

“That stupid contact name you put yourself as…”

“OH MY GOD!” Dahyun had to move the phone from her ear slightly so she wouldn’t go deaf from her girlfriend’s shout. “DID SOMEONE SEE IT? THAT’S HILARIOUS!”

“That game of truth or dare is over now. Can’t I change it?”

“But it’s funny!”

“Fuck off.” Dahyun said, swerving past a bunch of first years that were hogging the path. “Now, what was up with that text? Tzuyu was kissing a professor?”

“SHH!” Dahyun eardrum almost burst with the sound (how ironic). “This is just a rumour. She goes to a philosophy course with Sana and she said –”

“Why are we taking Sana’s word for anything? She’s the one that consistently denied being found in Momo’s dorm room that one time. And there were eyewitnesses… as in _me_. I saw her and I am still traumatised to this day.”

Dahyun shivered in disgust. She had hoped to get the image of a naked Sana lying on Momo’s bed out of her head within a year… but no. It was still there.

“Yeah, but she heard it from someone else.”

Dahyun saw Jihyo coming up ahead and lowered her phone from her ear, smiling wide and waving. When Jihyo saw her, she ginned in return and ran up to her eagerly. She gave her girlfriend a quick kiss on the cheek before continuing the conversation where they left off, walking through the campus hand in hand. Dahyun always felt a little giddy when holding Jihyo’s hand. Sometimes she liked to believe that she was a balloon full of helium gas that was bound to float away but holding onto Jihyo meant she would always be grounded. Maybe that sounds stupid to you. It isn’t to Dahyun.

“So, this is a widespread rumour, not just something Sana’s made up to give Tzuyu shit?”

Sana had always been a little pissed off by Tzuyu. Because she was: _“prettier, smarter and Momo can’t take her fucking eyes off her!”_ So, since they shared a class together, she liked to make up groundless gossip about her to make herself feel better. Tzuyu was so cool with it though. _“Sana’s a child. Her words are like flies buzzing around my head. Their stupid and annoying. Nothing more.”_ She had said to Dahyun once. She was so _cool_. Dahyun wished she could have that sort of attitude about things that people would say about her.

“It’s a joke in their class apparently. A joke that they’re secretly a thing.”

“Who’s the prof.?”

“Im Nayeon.” Jihyo said, tugging Dahyun a little when she was about to walk off the path and onto the road.

“I don’t think I’ve had any classes with her…” Dahyun couldn’t quite conjure up a face to match a Professor Im Nayeon. Sana had mentioned her during netball practice once… something about her being super boring, but that was it.

“Well, the story goes, Professor Im is the most boring lecturer ever and Tzuyu was the first person to say something about it… during class.”

Dahyun winced. Why would you interrupt a lecture like that? Some people sure were crazy.

“Then after that,” Jihyo continued. “They kept having this sort of… back and forth between them during every lecture and Im has asked her to stay back after class multiple times… and now everyone just likes to think that they’re dating.”

“That’s… weird.” Dahyun didn’t really know what to think of that. A student dating a professor… That isn’t right… “Tzuyu could be accused of cheating or bribing. I don’t think she’d get herself into such a sticky situation. We know her… right?”

Jihyo laughed lightly, tugging Dahyun around another corner so that a building was in sight. The school of philosophy.

“Well, I thought it would be fun to find out.”

“What?”

They entered the building, immediately overrun with a large crowd of students leaving a lecture room. They spotted Sana as they neared the door. She waved them over, her expression a little strained. Her smile didn’t look quite genuine. Dahyun wondered why.

“Hey cuties!” She spoke in her usual bubbly manner. “What brings two science majors over here?”

“We’re here to test your theory.” Jihyo smirked. Dahyun wondered what in God’s name was going through Jihyo’s head to make her feel so reckless today.

“Which one?” Sana teased. “I have many.”

“Did Tzuyu stay back today?” Jihyo confirmed indirectly and Sana’s eyes widened.

“I have reason to believe that they will be fucking as soon as everyone’s gone.” She sniggered, though she still looked a little tired and off. Dahyun was about to ask her if she was ok when Sana interrupted. “Have you guys seen Momo anywhere? She isn’t answering my texts.” She glanced behind her at the last trail of students dispersing out of the lecture hall.

“Aren’t the Kawaii Girls having a practice this afternoon?” Dahyun asked. “Maybe you could meet her there.” Sana just sighed and shook her head.

“They all hate me. I can’t just show up.”

“You know there’s a reason that they all hate you, right?” Dahyun hinted. _Because you stuff up every single game to get Momo’s attention or getting distracted by Momo._

Sana just frowned, not the reaction Dahyun thought she would have had and waved to them both.

“See you guys.”

“That was weird.” Jihyo said as Sana walked away, leaving her and Dahyun alone together in the halls. The atmosphere was oddly still… awkward and tense.

Jihyo suddenly pulled Dahyun into her arms and kissed her repeatedly on her neck. Dahyun cried out in shock and then in a screech of giggles because every kiss was tickling her. She tried to push Jihyo away, but her stubborn and spontaneous girlfriend wouldn’t let up. She has always been like this. The icebreaker in awkward situations like these. Dahyun loved her for it.

“STOP BEING AN IDIOT!” Dahyun cried, eventually forcing Jihyo to let go. Both of them fell to the ground laughing. “What was that?” Dahyun spoke through her laughter, holding her stomach with one hand and wiping her eyes with the other.

Jihyo snorted, crawling over to Dahyun’s spot in the ground. She placed another kiss on Dahyun’s cheek this time and was about to answer with some sort of snarky comment when they heard something coming from the door to the lecture room they had originally come to see.

A creak of the door and it swung open, revealing Tzuyu, walking away as fast as her long legs could carry her (which was quite fast). She glanced at Dahyun and Jihyo on the floor, pausing her strides for one moment, her face frozen in shock and horror. Her hair was out of place, no longer tied in its usual long ponytail, instead out and frizzy. Her clothes were crumpled at the neck as if someone had grasped her there and on her lips was a smear of red. A lipstick colour that Tzuyu rarely wore.

Then she ran.

Dahyun and Jihyo stared after her, their own faces fixed in shock. They silently agreed that day before travelling home together on the train to never talk about what they had just witnessed. Who knew what the implications could be?


	3. Catching feelings | Jeongchaeng

Jeongyeon wouldn’t call herself the type to fall easily. After all, she set her standards rather high. For one: she must fall for a girl (she had never been a big fan of the male species), for two: they must be taller or the same height as her (she liked the thought of being able to look up to someone), three: they have to be able to speak Korean (for some reason she had this irrational fear of falling for someone foreign and never being able to communicate with them), and most importantly, four: they have to be able to either make or take jokes. Humour (no matter how lame) was an important part of Jeongyeon’s life. So, finding a girl with a good sense (or maybe a bad sense, she wasn’t quite sure what would work better) of humour would be a perfect match.

Jeongyeon was always quite vocal to her friends about her criteria, finding it funny to say things like:

“See here, Sana, you’re terrible at Korean, so I just can’t date you.”

Of course, Sana was very good at Korean and she was also Momo’s fuck buddy, so it wasn’t _that_ funny.

Or: “Dahyun you’re just too short! There’s no way I would date you.”

Of course, Jihyo would then run after Jeongyeon with her fists in the air yelling at her. “ _She’s cute not short!”_

So, meeting Chaeyoung kinda metaphorically kicked Jeongyeon in the face, left her sprawled on the ground and shut her up.

Chaeyoung was perfect in all aspects of her criteria. She was a girl (a really cute one at that), she could speak Korean (a great relief) and she was HILARIOUS. Jeongyeon erased criteria two from her mind, pretending it never existed. Short was now her type.

She had met her in her photography course after they had been asked to go around the room and take a practice photo for editing and getting a feel of the technology and apps they would be using later on in the year. Jeongyeon hadn’t even noticed Chaeyoung at all as she was trying to get a photograph of her pencil standing up on the table. It just wasn’t balancing, and she was getting frustrated because this was dumb, and she was probably wasting time.

She was interrupted with a click and a flash from her left side and she blinked, letting her pencil go and turning to come face to face with a tiny girl holding a huge camera up to her face.

She lowered it slowly, revealing her embarrassed grin. Two adorable dimples appeared on her cheeks and Jeongyeon’s heart almost melted away.

“Ah.” The girl spoke, her voice small and hesitant. “Sorry, it’s just… we were asked to take a photo of something beautiful… right?”

Jeongyeon’s mouth dropped open. It felt as though she had been hit in the face with a sledgehammer. Was that a… pick up line?

“No, we weren’t” Jeongyeon blurted. Which made her cringe inside and out for ruining the girl’s move. But instead of getting offended, she just laughed, releasing her camera gently so it dangled on the strap around her neck.

“I know. But I was smooth, no?” She held out her hand. “My name is Son Chaeyoung. Nice to meet you!”

_Definitely smooth…_

“Yoo Jeongyeon.” Was all she was able to say without her voice breaking.

The thing was, Jeongyeon had always imagined _herself_ making the first move to pursue someone. Of course, Son Chaeyoung was only saying those things to be funny, but the fact that she said those things to _her_. To _Jeongyeon_. Before Jeongyeon could say something instead… It made her feel some type of way…

And that was that, Jeongyeon was in love, and she hated herself for it because there was no way in hell that Chaeyoung liked her back. Not then, despite the cheesy pickup line, and not now.

“You’re zoning out again. There’s only a few things left to do. Just get it over with!” Jennie, shook Jeongyeon by both her shoulders, returning her consciousness to reality. “If you’re not gonna pull your weight in this assignment, I’m going to kill you.” She threatened.

“Ok!” Jeongyeon pulled her off, looking at her other group members sheepishly. Then she looked back down at her laptop, raising her hands to continue her section on the google doc.

“You were thinking about the midget again, huh.” Said Yeri, who was sitting in front of Jeongyeon. Seulgi, their final member, snorted at Yeri’s comment. Jeongyeon tensed, and ignored her blushing cheeks, putting on her stone face.

“Nah! Why would I be thinking about Chaeyoung?”

“ _Why would I be thinking about Chaeyoung?_ ” Yeri mocked, tapping her foot against Jeongyeon’s leg underneath the table as a signal for her to look up. “Hey. You’re always thinking about her.”

“You practically have love hearts popping out of your eye sockets.” Jennie added. “It’s fucking gross.”

“No, I don’t.” Jeongyeon laughed, typing away furiously. She might have been typing nonsense, but at this point she didn’t care. She just wanted the thoughts of Chaeyoung to leave her mind and to get back to her work.

“Yeah, when are you guys gonna get together?” Seulgi asked, pressing the back of her pen into her cheek. “It’s infuriating to watch you two and _not_ see you kiss.”

Jeongyeon slammed her hands into the table, causing everyone to jump slightly in their seats.

“IT’S NOT LIKE THAT AND IT WILL NEVER BE LIKE THAT.” That was the truth, and Jeongyeon hated it with her guts, but there was no way she would ever, EVER admit that she liked Chaeyoung to her face. What if something about their friendship changed? What if Chaeyoung didn’t like her back? What if she lost feelings for her later on and had to break her heart? What if Chaeyoung suddenly lost the ability to speak Korean (yes this is a real fear)?

There were way too many ‘what ifs’ and unknowns and too many consequences to her actions that may not all be good. Jeongyeon over thought everything when it came to Chaeyoung.

Yet, the urge to confess… it was always there.

***

Chaeyoung had never been this confused in her entire life. Not even as confused as she was around Jeongyeon (and that _surely_ was confusing). Today was the third time in a whole week that Tzuyu had come running to her in tears.

The confusing part wasn’t that she was crying, because Tzuyu cried a lot, it was the reason why she was crying that Chaeyoung didn’t get. The most that she had been able to get out of her was something along the lines of:

“Professor… trouble… can’t…”

Nothing of Tzuyu’s speech made sense when she cried. So, Chaeyoung could only hold her in her arms and wait for her to stop. And just like Tzuyu to be the ever-secretive child she was, she never ever told the truth about why she was crying.

_“Oh, just my Professor… she yelled at me after class.”_

_“My Professor graded me poorly on a test.”_

_“Nothing.”_

_“I’m just tired is all.”_

Stupid excuses. Chaeyoung could see right through her petty lies… to a certain point of course. Her only guesses of what was really happening was: The professor was bullying her, or a classmate was bullying her. But it could really be anything. Chaeyoung was always clueless. And at this point, after three breakdowns with Tzuyu, she was almost ready to move to her last resort…

Talking to Sana. Chaeyoung shivered at the thought.

It’s not that she was afraid of Sana… she was just highly intimidated by her when considering how she acted in Dahyun’s netball games and her attitude toward Tzuyu during classes. She didn’t want to get on the bad side of a girl who liked to spread rumours and break lots of rules. There was (wasn’t) a high risk that she would be either named a slut, or murdered at Sana’s hands, and Chaeyoung wanted neither. But, keeping her best friends happy and healthy was much more important than risking of her reputation or her own life, so it was becoming a serious, serious consideration.

After a few more minutes of breathless crying from Tzuyu’s end, she detached herself from Chaeyoung’s arms and sat up straight on the bench they were seated on. She rubbed the tears from her eyes quickly before turning to face her.

Her expression was so strained and forlorn that Chaeyoung almost broke down in tears herself.

“Thanks Chaeng. I’m all good now.”

“Seriously,” Chaeyoung tried once again. “What happened? This crying stuff is happening every second day and it’s making me worried!”

“It’s nothing… just the workload… it’s hard to keep up in class.”

More and more lies. Tzuyu had never had trouble with workload. Never. If anyone would complain about workload, it would be Jeongyeon. Chaeyoung’s heart grew big, just at the thought of the older girl. Jeongyeon sucked at time management and always fell behind and started to stress.

“Okay…” Chaeyoung replied as Tzuyu stood to leave. There was no point in pressuring her.

She gulped.

This meant… Sana.

“Hey, short-stack!” The voice of the girl that she loved so much floated by her ears. When Chaeyoung looked to the left, Jeongyeon was approaching her with a box filled with stacks of paper. It looked heavy and it made her arm muscles stand out. Chaeyoung really wanted to wolf-whistle, but she held back.

“Hey.” Chaeyoung smiled, trying to keep her expression neutral even though she was about to drool at the sight of her. “What’s the box for?”

“Flyers.” She said, placing the box down with a smack on the floor. She flopped onto the chair next to Chaeyoung, her arms and legs spread out like a starfish. _Damn. It must have been really heavy._ “They’re for this year’s final netball matches.”

Chaeyoung pulled a flyer from the huge pile. It was printed on pink paper (this had to be Momo’s design input), with large, balloon lettering reading out: ‘Kawaii Girls x Lions FINAL MATCH!’ Other smaller teams’ matches were listed below as well as the date of the matches and a cute cartoon netball drawn in the corner of the page with eyes and a smile.

“Literally nobody wants to watch the Kawaii Girls and the Lions.” Chaeyoung spoke, choking back a giggle as she replaced the paper.

“You’d be surprised.” Jeongyeon said. “It’s the guys who like to watch the netball, and I don’t think they mind if Sana runs off with Momo halfway through. They come for the short skirts and boobs.”

“Is that why Jihyo became an umpire?” Chaeyoung laughed at her own joke, Jeongyeon joining in in sync. She always laughed at her lame jokes. Always. It made her heart flutter.

After their laughter died down, Jeongyeon sat forward on her chair as if to start to speak again, however Chaeyoung didn’t see this, causing both girls to start speaking at the same time.

“Can I ask for some help?” Chaeyoung asked

“Ireallylikeyou.” Jeongyeon spluttered. Too quickly to be understood and drowned out under Chaeyoung’s question.

“Wait!” Chaeyoung laughed a bit. “You first. What did you say?”

Jeongyeon’s face went beetroot red with her own words that remained unheard.

“No, you go first.” She said, trying to keep her breathing steady.

Chaeyoung, oblivious to Jeongyeon’s confession, nodded and continued.

“Okay then… Can I ask for some help with… Sana?”

“Uh… what about S-Sana?” Jeongyeon stuttered. Chaeyoung thought that it was a little strange for Jeongyeon to be acting so shy all of a sudden.

“You know how I feel about Sana… I just… can you ask her a question for me?”

“Sure, you weirdo.” Jeongyeon seemed to have recovered from whatever left her so flustered and stood to pick up her box again, an indication for Chaeyoung to follow her. “What type of question?”

Chaeyoung walked close by Jeongyeon as the strode down the path toward the notice board.

“You know how she shares the philosophy classes with Tzuyu?” Jeongyeon stopped when they reached the board and began pulling out several posters to pin to the cork.

“Yeah.”

“Can you just ask her… if Tzuyu is getting bullied?”

“Bullied?” Jeongyeon paused with a pin one hand and her other hand holding the poster secure to the board. “You think she’s getting bullied?”

Chaeyoung shrugged, taking a pin of her own to help.

“I just have… a bad feeling.” She didn’t want to expose Tzuyu’s crying to everyone.

“And you want to talk to Sana about that? You know she hates Tzuyu’s guts.”

“I know.” They pinned the last poster to the board, so it was completely covered, then Jeongyeon picked up the box again to move on to the next notice board. “But she’s the only one who can know anything.”

“I’ll ask her later.” Jeongyeon said. “I think there’s a practice for the Lions later today. I’ll meet them before I go home.”

“Thanks, Jeongie.” Chaeyoung smiled big, intentionally acting cute which caused Jeongyeon to roll her eyes.

A voice interrupted Chaeyoung’s cuteness, causing both girls to turn their attention ahead.

“Hey guys!” It was Momo.

They both gaped at her, seeing who was standing with her, their hands intertwined, and huge smiles plastered on their faces.

“Hi!” Kim Heechul smiled at them both.


	4. Nihilism

Today wasn’t great. Tzuyu had a nine-hour day starting at 8am. She had her English and Korean lectures back to back that were on opposite sides of the campus. She had an assignment that she hadn’t had time to start yet. She had no money for lunch. And worst of all, was the Philosophy lecture she had at 12.

Philosophy was her least favourite subject for many reasons. For one, it was just a filler subject because she couldn’t think of anything else to pick to fit her number of units. Next there was Minatozaki Sana who always seemed to have it out for her for no reason other than to make her life miserable. And last and definitely the worst of all, her professor Im Nayeon; the most boring human to ever exist _ever_.

Tzuyu had only just sat down, five minutes before the lecture was meant to begin and Sana was already making things hell.

“Chou!” She yelled from across the room, causing all eyes to trail back to her seat at the back left of the lecture theatre. “Study up enough Korean to understand today’s lesson?” Tzuyu ignored the sniggers echoing around the room and pulled out her book and a pen, writing the date at the top of the page. Sana was foreign too. She had no right to pick on Tzuyu’s Korean skills. But instead of talking back, she gritted her teeth and told herself that she would study harder and practice her pronunciation.

“Okay! Okay.” Professor Im’s classically boring drone of a voice caused a blanket of silence to eventually fall across the room. And with one last smirk from Sana, thus began the worst part of Tzuyu’s day.

Not even fifteen minutes in and Tzuyu had already dozed off twice. How was it possible for someone to make a subject so unbearable to listen to? Professor Im certainly was an expert in the field of making Tzuyu’s brain simultaneously feel numb and in excruciating pain. And she wasn’t the only one feeling the symptoms of crippling boredom.

Multitudes of students were watching movies on their laptops, sleeping behind books or staring into space. The whole lecture hall looked like a bunch of two-year-old’s that were half asleep and had the attention span of five seconds.

"Nihilism is a word that was first used by a German man by the name of Friedrich Nietzsche," Tzuyu thought that Professor Im would probably make more money by selling tapes of her lectures as remedies for those who struggled to sleep. It’s like her words were laced with some sort of strong drug. The epitome of boring. "He used it as a description for the western society at the time - which was in the 1700s - and their degenerating respect and adherence to traditional morality."

Who cares? Thought Tzuyu, catching the yawn from the person beside her.

"It basically is a belief that life is meaningless." Professor Im said in monotone.

“Who cares.” Tzuyu thought, unknowing that the words actually slipped through her lips rather loudly with a huge sigh of air.

Professor Im paused. Then the theatre was slowly filled with the sound of 200 seats creaking as those that sat in them turned once again toward Tzuyu, their eyes curious, wide awake, shocked.

“Pardon me?” The professor’s eyes narrowed, glued to the student who was rude enough to interrupt. And that student just happened to be Tzuyu.

She felt her cheeks heat to a million degrees, her eyes tear up, her clothes suddenly become too warm and her mouth run dry. Professor Im was looking directly at her, her eyes dark and intense from all the way down at the lectern. It was a matter of seconds before Tzuyu burst into embarrassed tears and made everything a thousand times worse for herself and her already tarnished reputation (thanks to Sana).

So, Tzuyu did something stupid. Something unthinkable. Something that would change everything about Philosophy lectures from then on.

“I said,” Tzuyu spoke loudly and clearly, setting her face into a hard stare, watching Professor Im’s expression waver. “That this class sure is meaningless.”

The Professor’s expression slackened and there was a noticeable shift in the atmosphere of the room. There was a giggle from down the front and a few _Ooooh_ ’s sprinkled throughout the room as Tzuyu tried to keep her expression neutral while in the meantime, her heart was threatening to beat so fast she died of exhaustion.

Professor Im opened and closed her mouth several times, her own face turning a shade of pink. She was completely and utterly speechless… that is until her eyebrows plunged, and her teeth clenched.

“See me after class.”

A laugh that was unmistakably Sana’s echoed around the theatre and throughout Tzuyu’s head. This couldn’t be happening. She couldn’t have just done what she thought she had. _What an idiot._

The rest of the lecture was more of a blur in her mind than normal, her nerves building as the minutes ticked by. And by the end of the lecture, she was almost in tears again. How the hell was she supposed to face Professor Im and apologise for the horrifically rude things she had just said? How was she supposed to justify anything?

When the lecture was over, her eyes locked with the professor’s once again.

“Good luck, Chewy.” Sana called in a sing song way from across the room once again, causing laughter and chatter as the rest of the students filed out like a stream of ants from their home. “Try not to stutter while talking to the Professor okay?”

Tzuyu gritted her teeth at the comment, packing her things in her bag and making her way down the aisle to the front of the room where Professor Im was waiting.

Once everyone was out of the room, the professor cleared her throat, a signal from Tzuyu to look up from her feet and face her.

“Miss Chou Tzuyu?” She asked, bunching her lips to the side of her face.

“You know my name?” It _was_ a little strange for her to know who Tzuyu was out of her 200 students in this lecture, let alone the many other classes she most likely held.

“Of course, I know your name.” She sounded annoyed; her words seemingly forced out of her mouth as she spoke. “I hear it a lot from Miss Minatozaki.”

Tzuyu felt a stab of anger hit her. This implied that she knew about Sana’s bullying. She had known this whole time about Sana’s stupid words (that really hurt) and hadn’t said anything or offered some help? What the hell?

“You know about the stuff Sana says about me?” Tzuyu’s tone took a turn.

“That’s not why I called you to stay after class.” Professor Im completely ignored Tzuyu’s question and moved on, folding the laptop she had propped up on the lectern and zipping it back up into a laptop bag.

_What the fuck?_

“Why did you say it?” She asked, continuing to pack her things, not looking at Tzuyu as she did so.

Tzuyu was mad. Super mad. She had always been told that the Professors and staff were supposed to be here to help and the fact that Im had known about Sana’s behaviour since day one and had ignored it over and over again pissed her the FUCK off. So, she gave her what she deserved once again.

“I said it because it’s fucking true. Your classes are boring. Everyone knows it.” Her heart was beating a hundred miles an hour again, but this time it wasn’t from nerves. She hated Professor Im and her classes and her monotone voice and her dumb idiot eyes for not seeing what was right in front of them.

“How…” She clenched a book she was holding in her hands a little too hard, scrunching the cover while her mouth flapped like a fish out of water. “How _dare_ you use that kind of language with me.”

Tzuyu just chuckled.

“You use way more expression talking like this. Why can’t you learn a bit and take it to the lectern next time. Then maybe less people will fall asleep.”

Her eyes widened and Tzuyu could have sworn that she saw her eye twitch.

“I’m not… I refuse to be talked to like this!” She breathed deeply through her nose a few times while Tzuyu struggled to hold back her cynical laughter.

“If you don’t want to be talked to like this, don’t suck at presenting.”

“You should have some respect!” She looked absolutely mortified and it was making Tzuyu happier than she had ever been before. Making someone feel like Sana had been making her feel since day one. It was cathartic.

“You gain my respect when you learn how to teach and keep your class awake. Now if you’ll excuse me.”

Tzuyu stormed out of the room, ignoring further protests from her professor and revelling in the glee that her strained voice and the vision of her furrowed brows brought her. She guessed this is what Sana felt like.

It all made sense.


	5. Cheating

“Momo?” Jeongyeon questioned, her brows furrowed at the couple.

“Heechul?” Chaeyoung mimicked, her voice high pitched and confused.

Momo giggled slightly, tugging at her hair with her free hand and swinging the one that was laced in Heechul’s.

“That’s who we are.” She cleared her throat. “You guys putting up the posters for the game?”

Jeongyeon and Chaeyoung remained in a stunned silence for a moment longer before Jeongyeon spoke up.

“Uh, yeah.”

Momo continued the conversation as if nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Let’s hope that game isn’t a flop like all the others have been.”

“I’m sure you guys will do great!” Heechul added cheerfully, as oblivious as Momo to the tension in the situation.

“Anyway, catch you guys later.” Momo nodded specifically at Jeongyeon whom she shared a biology lecture with. “See you in an hour?”

“Yeah.” Jeongyeon said, her mouth dry all of a sudden as they watched Momo and Heechul walk by them on their merry way as if this was all completely normal.

Once they were completely out of earshot, Chaeyoung put her hands to her head.

“Isn’t Momo with Sana?”

Momo and Sana had been together (fucking) for as long as Chaeyoung had been friends with them (friends with Momo), and neither girl had ever shown any interest in a relationship with anyone else. It was an unspoken rule that Momo was Sana’s and Sana was Momo’s and nobody fucked with it (except Sana and Momo. They fucked all the time).

It was also a known fact that Sana was the most ruthless bitch on campus (at least to Chaeyoung) and if anyone made the slightest move onto Momo, they were destined for hell. Which is why Tzuyu had always been on Sana’s bad side. Momo had taken a liking to her after meeting for a dance tryout and as soon as Tzuyu so much as glanced in Momo’s direction, it was a sentence to hell.

So how had Heechul… an older law student… how had he even gotten close?

Jeongyeon didn’t answer Chaeyoung’s question straight away. She stared at the spot where Momo and Heechul had disappeared. Her mouth was open slightly in shock in such a way that Chaeyoung found herself imagining a fly zooming in through the opening.

“How am I supposed to talk to Sana now?” Jeongyeon whispered. “Do you think that she knows about those two?”

“I have no clue.” Chaeyoung shuddered that the thought of Sana finding out that someone else was after ‘her girl’. It seemed that everything was going wrong.

“Maybe Jennie knows something.” Jeongyeon finally snapped out of her shock and adjusted the weight of the box on her hip. “I’ll ask around. I just hope Sana hasn’t seen or heard anything. This could be the end of the world for her…” She sighed. “I’ll see you later Chaeng. I’ll tell you if Sana was willing to answer any questions.”

As Jeongyeon walked away, Chaeyoung couldn’t help but (stare at her ass…) wonder what the hell was going on with her friends.

***

Mina was eating a bento box at the university café and looking over her power point she would be using for her biology talk at two. A completely normal day. Simple, monotonous, predictable. After she was finished eating, she would go to the library for a half hour to organise her emails and then walk to the other side of campus to the lecture theatre… that is… she would be doing those things if she hadn’t been interrupted.

“Ah! Mina!” A familiar, high pitched voice called to her right. Mina repressed a groan. Her schedule was being interrupted. But she kept her expression neutral and turned her head to see Im Nayeon, scurrying toward her with a huge binder in her arms. She looked… demented.

Her hair was in shambles with only half of it seeming to remain in her bun, her shirt was untucked from her pencil skirt and the buttons were incorrectly done. What was even stranger was the fact that she was wearing her glasses. Thick rimmed frames perched on the bridge of her nose. For as long as Mina had known her colleague – which was for longer than Mina really wanted to be completely honest (she was a bit of a handful to be friends with) – Nayeon had only ever worn her glasses when she was particularly stressed or distracted. Something was… wrong.

Nayeon approached Mina’s table and smacked her binder down without warning, causing Mina’s bento to jump slightly.

“Mina, Mina, Mina! How ARE you today?” Nayeon’s voice was louder than it normally was. Up close, Mina could see that her cheeks were flushed, and her make-up was slightly smudged.

Mina paused before replying as Nayeon sat opposite from her and began to retie her hair.

“I’m good.” She said cautiously. “Are you alright? You’re not wearing your contacts today.”

Nayeon’s unmistakeable laugh rang through Mina’s ears.

“Oh! Me?” She finished tying her hair back into a neat bun and then looked down to her shirt. Mina could see the shock and horror on her face when she realised how badly her buttons had been done up. “I… I’m just… great. Just great. I forgot… my contacts today.”

Mina highly doubted Nayeon’s words, watching as the older woman discreetly began redoing her buttons in the correct placement.

“Are you sure?” Nayeon’s fingers were shaking. “You don’t usually come around this side of campus at two… do you?”

She finally finished her buttons correctly and tucked the ends of her shirt into her skirt.

“Oh… I was just helping a student with… a project. They told me to meet them outside the library.” She gestured to the building she had stumbled from moments before. With her hair and clothes fixed, she looked much saner. Mina wondered what had really happened.

“I just saw you here… I wanted to say hello.” Nayeon smiled, her bunny teeth gleaming.

“Hello then.” Mina waved, giggling a little at her friend’s antics. “Do you have any classes later?”

“No. I’m finished for today.” Nayeon was quiet for a few seconds before speaking up in an uncharacteristically tiny voice. “Mina…?”

“Yeah?” She was acting very strange today. Mina wondered if she had been having enough sleep these days.

“Can I ask you a very hypothetical question?” She pushed her glasses back up her nose and looked into Mina’s eyes. Her eyes had something unmistakable in them.

Fear.

“Um… sure. Go ahead.”

“Let’s say there is this… this girl. A hypothetical girl. And let’s say that this hypothetical girl is hypothetically–”

“I understand that this is hypothetical, Nayeon.” Mina repressed a laugh. Nayeon nodded quickly and continued.

“If a professor falls in love with their student… is that normal?” Nayeon clenched her teeth after the question was out and then whispered a very small _hypothetical_ afterward.

Mina frowned. What kind of _hypothetical_ question was that?

“Uh… I don’t really know how to answer that.” She watched Nayeon swallow. It was almost audible. “I suppose feelings are normal…”

“What if they wanted to have a relationship with them?” Nayeon asked again. “What should they do?”

Mina had a strange feeling all of a sudden.

“Well, it isn’t right to have a relationship with a student… there are so many implications. Nayeon, you’re a philosophy professor. Don’t you know ethics?”

“Yeah. I guess… implications… ethics. Yeah.” She swallowed again. “The student could be accused of cheating. The professor could lose their job… implications.”

Without looking back up at Mina, Nayeon gathered herself and her binder into her arms and stood.

“Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

As Nayeon walked away, Mina’s strange feeling only increased.

Something told her that the hypothetical professor falling in love with a hypothetical student… wasn’t so hypothetical after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update. More on the way soon!


	6. Spin the Bottle | Dahyo

Contrary to popular belief, it was a drunken, highly rigged game of ‘Spin the Bottle’ that brought Jihyo and Dahyun together. Nobody would believe either girl when they told the story. It just sounded… too raunchy for those goody-two-shoes girls. Looking at Dahyun and Jihyo as they were today, they were the perfect couple. Cute out in public, not too much PDA, respectful, kind, honest and just perfect. Nobody except those that were present that night two years ago would ever believe the story of how they became an item.

_It was Sana’s idea (of course). She downed a beer impressively fast without batting an eyelid and called everyone at the party to the floor. Dahyun didn’t exactly remember why they were even at a party. It might have been for Seulgi’s birthday, but the world was spinning a little too much for her to care._

_“Come here bitches!” Sana called, her voice a little bit far away and hanging above Dahyun’s head. “Let’s have a game.”_

_It wasn’t long before a sloppy circle was created with Sana and her empty glass bottle in the middle. Everyone sat down. Dahyun glanced beside her. Jihyo, her friend from her biology lectures and the unofficial netball umpire, was sitting cross-legged to her right, her eyes glazed over and an empty red cup in front of her. It had never crossed Dahyun’s mind that Jihyo would ever show up to a party like this._

_The rules of the game were implied by Sana’s movements. She bent down in the centre of the circle and spun the bottle. There were cheers as it spun, the drunken anticipation for it to land on someone filling the room._

_Nobody could see it, but Sana’s concentration was intense. If this bottle did not land on Momo who sat against the wall of the room, she would throw something and possibly cry. They hadn’t had a netball match for months because it was the off season and she needed Momo’s kisses._

_Sana did not burst into tears straight away when the bottle landed on Tzuyu. There were screams and yells of shock and hysterics as Tzuyu and Sana looked at each other up and down for a moment._

_“I won’t remember this will I?” Sana asked herself as she stumbled into Tzuyu’s arms. There was another uproar (especially from Momo who had to be held back by Lisa and Jennie) as their lips locked._

_“That’s hot.” Jihyo mumbled, causing Dahyun to turn to her in shock._

_“Damn straight.” Slurred Chaeyoung who sat on Jihyo’s other side._ Woah _. Dahyun thought to herself._ Jihyo really has a side to her that I don’t know about _._

_They watched Sana and Tzuyu make out for a good two minutes before they pulled apart and Momo started insisting that it was her turn. And by that time that Sana’s mind caught up with her actions and she cried for the rest of the night, cringing away when Momo’s tongue decided to explore Lisa’s mouth after the bottle pointed in her direction. It was the most disgusting kiss Dahyun had ever seen in her life._

_It took Jennie and Lisa stumbling away in each other’s arms to possibly have sex in Seulgi’s bedroom, Irene to run away in embarrassment when Sana’s tenth spin landed on her and Yeri to puke in front of Chaeyoung right before kissing her before anyone even remembered that Dahyun and Jihyo were still in the room._

_“Jihyo!” Seulgi stood from the opposite side of the circle and stepped over a passed out Sooyoung to grasp her hand. There were cheers from those that remained aware enough and a groan from Yeri who lay in the corner with her head in Chaeyoung’s lap. “Take a spin!” She handed the bottle to a bewildered Jihyo._

_“I…” She looked around nervously. “I don’t play these sorts of games.”_

_“Then why’d you get in the circle!?” Momo yelled from beneath Sana who had tackled her into submission only moments before._

_Jihyo looked around, feeling a little dizzy from the alcohol and a little sick from nerves. She gave in quickly, kneeling down and placing the glass on the floor. Just before she moved her hand to spin it, she locked eyes with Dahyun._

_Jihyo didn’t know if it was simply because she was drunk off her face or because she had always had the thought of this at the back of her mind… she knew right then that she would never spin that bottle._

_She had never kissed anyone. Not ever. And if she was going to give her first kiss away, no matter how drunk she was, she wanted it to be her choice; not up to the chance of a glass bottle._

_Her body stood, abandoning the game and causing groans of disappointment to sound out through the room._

_“Oh, boohoo goody-two-shoes.” Park Chaeyoung called from across the room. “Just give it a go!”_

_But Jihyo wasn’t listening. It was as if her ears had decided not to register sound anymore. Her vision tunnelled. All she could see was Dahyun. Her dark piercing eyes. Her pretty blonde hair that was slightly out of place in its tight ponytail. Her lips parted in anticipation._

_Jihyo knelt down before Dahyun, carefully placing a hand on her cheek, feeling the warmth and the softness of her skin, watching the sparkles of the dim lights in her eyes. She leaned in…_

Needless to say, the night of ‘Spin the Bottle’ went down in history as a night of firsts for both Jihyo and dahyun. First big party, first drinking game, first kisses, first… well, let’s just say that there’s a first for everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Something short and fun! Hope you liked it :)


	7. Priorities

Sana was angrier than she had ever been in her entire life. It felt like a volcano was threatening to erupt inside her stomach. It was almost a feeling of nausea. She clenched her jaw and tapped her fingers against her thigh as Jihyo blew the whistle.

She was grateful for the crisp air of the afternoon. The cold wind curled underneath her singlet and distracted her slightly from the overwhelming feelings.

The Lions were practicing half court against each other. The finals were in three weeks and Sana didn’t want to be made a fool of anymore. She had scheduled a ridiculous practice timetable, and she was determined to stick to it. Practice half court every afternoon for two hours until their technique was perfect. She wouldn’t be called a hopeless captain ever again. The Lions would never be called useless ever again. She wouldn’t lose to the Kawaii Girls ever again.

With the blow of Jihyo’s whistle, Sana became serious about netball for the first time since she had been with Momo.

Nobody was prepared.

Sana stood at the edge of the semicircle, watching as Seulgi, Yeri, Wendy, Sooyoung and Dahyun battled it out for the ball. She watched them block, snatch, step, pivot and every movement made her feel more and more determined.

Wendy stumbled with the ball as she snatched it from Yeri’s hands. Stepping. Jihyo was about to blow the whistle to call it when Sana interjected.

“WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, WENDY?” She abandoned the semicircle and the first quarter all together, approaching her Wing Defence with vigour. “We DON’T have time to be clumsy. We DON’T have time for _stepping_ or _contact_ or _obstruction_. None of that.”

The rest of the team looked at Sana in shock. Wendy looked humiliated, her head hanging low as she handed the ball back to Seulgi for a rematch.

“Do you guys get it?” Sana looked at them all as they returned to their positions. Jihyo was silent on the edge of the court, unsure if she should interject. “Do you guys see what’s at stake for this game? Our reputations. We have EVERYTHING on the line with this final. We’ve acted like idiots for long enough. This game is our redemption. We CANNOT stuff this up.”

Irene approached gently from behind, placing a comforting hand on Sana’s shoulder. She half expected Sana to shake her off, but she managed to remain there. She rubbed her thumb back and forth against the exposed skin, attempting to comfort her.

They returned to the game. Again, and again and again they played the half court. They played shooting exercises. Passing exercises. Running drills. They did it all and everyone was exhausted.

“Okay everyone back into position. We’re playing half-court again.” Sana called the Lions back from their shuttle run.

Sana wasn’t expecting what came next.

“No.” Yeri panted, pulling her Wing Attack bib off and over her head. “We’ve been here for two hours Sana. We’re exhausted.”

“We’re not perfect yet.” Sana dismissed. “We’re not leaving until we get a perfect half-court game from all of you.”

“You know, maybe I wouldn’t protest going a little longer if we had subs. But we don’t Sana. You scared them all away.”

Sana paused; her anger fuelled determination stunted for a moment.

“Scared them away?”

“Remember Lia? Sorn? Mia? Yiren? Do you remember when they left Sana?” Yeri continued, rolling up the sleeves of her shirt. Her expression was solemn. Frustration and annoyance oozed from her presence.

“Hey, Yeri… let’s not bring this up now.” Irene called glancing warily at Sana’s blank face.

“Why not bring it up now. This is the perfect time to tell Sana that she doesn’t have her priorities straight.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Sana felt tears building up behind her eyes, but she bit the inside of her cheek and blinked them away.

“Come on Yeri. Let’s not start something.” Dahyun tried to interject, but she was ignored too.

“It means that you never gave a single crap about netball and it drove everyone away.”

“I-if I didn’t care about netball, I wouldn’t be right here, telling you to go again. I care about netball.”

Yeri rolled her eyes.

“Sana, you’re being stupid.” She gestured around at the team who remained dead quiet. “Why don’t we have any subs, Sana? Because Lia, Sorn, Mia and Yiren care about playing an actual game. They don’t want to cheat. They don’t want to run around the court like fairies. They know how to play an actual game.”

Silence.

“Do you wanna know why we all stuck around?” She asked.

“Okay, Yeri that’s enough.” Irene said again, her voice shaky. She stood in front of Sana and glared at Yeri as hard as she could. If Yeri said what she was about to say, Sana would never forgive them. Irene couldn’t risk that.

The whole team tensed.

“Yeah, stop it. Let’s just do one more game and then we can go.” Sooyoung added.

Yeri didn’t listen.

“We felt sorry for you.” Yeri admitted, looking deep into Sana’s eyes.

The volcano within Sana ceased it’s rumbling. Everything felt numb.

“We felt bad for you because you were so desperate for Hirai Momo’s attention and the only way you were going to get it was through a game. So, we decided to stay.”

“No, no. That’s… that’s not true Sana.” Irene turned to face her, her stomach twisting and turning into knots of worry, regret and guilt all at the same time.

Yeri shook her head.

“It’s true.” She swallowed, a shadow of regret passing over her face as she watched Sana’s expression fall. “We put up with the cheating. We put up with the losses. Because we felt bad for you. We should have just left like the others.”

“Hey, Sana! I just wanted to…” Jeongyeon’s voice came from the sidelines, but Sana didn’t listen.

The realisation came crashing down on her like an avalanche.

She had always prioritised Momo over everything. It had wrecked her games. It had ruined her friendships. And was it ever even worth it?

The Lions had lost every game since Momo had created the Kawaii Girls team a few years ago. It had always been Sana’s fault. Her teammates left one after another. She cheated. She didn’t take the games seriously.

Netball meant Momo to Sana. She had ruined it for herself, for her team, for Momo’s team… for everyone.

And it was all for nothing.

Attention from Momo meant nothing.

“I’m sorry.” She muttered. “I ruined everything.” The anger was gone. What remained was empty.

“Please, Sana.” Irene looked to be on the verge of tears watching Sana collapse under the pressure of Yeri’s comments. “Don’t think like that.”

“Netball is my priority now.” Sana continued. “I realise that I let myself stray away from that. But it’s not going to be a problem anymore. I want to train, and I want to win. That’s my goal.”

“But who’s to say that you won’t go back to fawning over Momo as soon as the game starts.” Yeri added. “You’ve said this speech before.”

The tears came then.

“Momo…” Sana tried to speak. Tried to explain herself. It just wouldn’t come out.

The girls collectively gasped as they watched their captain break down in front of them. Irene moved forward to take Sana in her arms. Sana accepted the embrace without thinking.

They could only guess what was going on in Sana’s head. They could only wonder what was happening with her and Momo. They only thing they knew… is that it wasn’t good.

Sana buried her head into Irene’s shoulder, a million thoughts running through her head.

_My team stuck around because they felt sorry for me._

_I’m a useless captain._

_I drove everyone away._

_Momo doesn’t love me._


	8. Across the room

One thing was for sure: the day Tzuyu had called Professor Im’s lectures boring had gone down in history and it didn’t stop there.

Tzuyu was already infamous due to Sana’s constant pestering, but after that fateful day (because it surely was a fateful day) the lecture hall had its eyes glued to her every time she made her way to the back of the room. Everyone was suddenly alert, watching Tzuyu’s every move. It was almost like philosophy lectures had become one of the best parts of the day… simply because Tzuyu didn’t stop.

She spent every philosophy class taking out her pent-up frustration at Sana on her professor. Sitting at the back of the room, watching Im’s every move, relishing in the way her face would drop every time Tzuyu called her out.

_“Where’s your expression? Try that line again from the top!”_

_“I don’t know if I’ve said this before, Professor, but your classes are boring.”_

_“Try telling someone who cares!”_

_“Where are my fucks? Oh wait, I have none to give.”_

Some of the things Tzuyu said to Professor Im were funny, others were ridiculous, some were downright rude. But it didn’t matter to Tzuyu what the others thought. Their laughs, shouts, and protests just egged her on. Even Sana had been pushed from her mind. Tzuyu had taken over her role and it was exhilarating.

For once it wasn’t her feeling small and stupid. For once it wasn’t her who was always on the verge of tears. For once she was the one laughing.

Professor Im had her stay back after class every other day and it wasn’t long before it became the best part of Tzuyu’s day. She would wait smugly in her seat as the rest of the room cleared out, thinking to herself how much things had changed since that day a few weeks ago. Then she would walk down the isle of stairs to where her professor was waiting at the lectern, her face contorted in a mix of disappointment, amusement and hurt.

Today was not different. After a lecture full of ruthless comments on Professor Im’s glasses that she had recently started to wear in class, she had been asked to stay back. Tzuyu’s smugness didn’t last long, however.

As the hall cleared out and she packed her things in her backpack, the air in the room seemed to have a different quality to it. A sort of silence that was thicker and heavier than usual. She trudged down to the front of the room where Professor Im was waiting for her.

“Do you get a thrill out of this?” He voice was quiet and high pitched. A tone that Tzuyu had never heard from her before. She continued to clear up her books and laptop, waiting nonchalantly for Tzuyu’s reply.

She had never asked something like that before. It had always just been a lecture on respect. Something to yell at her. This was very different. And Tzuyu had no idea how to answer.

“Is it because I let Sana have her way with you for so long?” She looked up, sliding her thick rimmed glasses up her nose. Her eyes were big and apologetic. “I’m really sorry, Tzuyu.” She whispered which caused a jolt to Tzuyu’s stomach. “I’m sorry for letting it happen right in front of me without saying anything. It was wrong of me. I understand that.” She zipped up her shoulder bag and sighed, looking down at her own feet in shame. “I just wish you wouldn’t take it out on me like this… I mean… I understand why you’re doing it… I understand how you felt now. But please… just… can you let up a little?”

Tzuyu didn’t know what to say. Professor Im looked so embarrassed and guilty. Her hands clutched at the strap of her bag like it was a lifeline. Her eyes were watery and shaky. When she looked even closer, she could see that they were slightly bloodshot… Had Tzuyu made her feel so horrible that she couldn’t sleep?

All the feelings that Sana had given Tzuyu over the years came back in an instant. What had given her the right to make someone else feel like that?

She must have been staring blankly for a little too long because Professor Im cleared her throat awkwardly.

“I know I was wrong.” She said again. “But what you say… it hurts… you know?”

Tzuyu felt like crying. _What had she done?_

“Professor Im, I–”

“Hey,” She interrupted, unexpectedly placing one of her hands on Tzuyu’s shoulder briefly. “You don’t need to apologise or make up for it or anything. Let’s just put this all behind us, okay?” She shouldered her bag.

“I’ll stand up for you from now on.” She smiled, something Tzuyu didn’t think she had ever seen before. It was big and bright, her front two teeth poking out similarly to a cartoon bunny. Bittersweet with the situation Tzuyu had put them both in. “And, please, call me Nayeon. We’re all friends here. I don’t want you to feel scared about talking to me when things bother you. I’m on your side, okay?”

Tzuyu’s mouth dropped open so that her jaw lay on the floor.

_Call me Nayeon??!!_

With another bunny smile, Professor Im… sorry, _Nayeon_ , left through the side door, leaving Tzuyu to gape away on her own.

It was strange after that day. Tzuyu didn’t know what she was supposed to do with herself anymore. Her first class back with… _Nayeon_ … (Tzuyu was still nervous about calling her professor by her first name, but also mildly thrilled. She wondered if she had encouraged any of her other students to do so as well…) was very strange.

From the moment she stepped into the theatre, Nayeon seemed to be watching her every move. Not in a creepy, weird way, but in an almost protective manor. They locked eyes as Tzuyu sat down in her seat, something intimate seeming to pass between them.

When Sana walked into the room brandishing her usual antics, the air in the theatre shifted.

“Ready for Korean lessons, Tzuyu?” Sana smirked from across the room. The same old shit that Tzuyu got every time she and Sana were in 100 metre radius from each other. Tzuyu was prepared for it, as always. She hung her head low and pretended to ignore it.

She was shocked when she heard the voice of her professor cut through the general chatter of the students before the start of the class.

“Minatozaki.” Nayeon called out and the room went silent. A shocked, still silence like they had never experienced before. She straightened her collar on her shirt as if this was a completely normal occurrence and continued. “I assume _you’ll_ be attending those Korean lessons too. Your grammar has been less than acceptable as of late, and you’ll see that reflected in your marks.”

Sana’s smug expression was wiped from her face in an instant. Nayeon’s face was neutral. Her normal boring expression, but there was a strange quality to her eyes. Only Tzuyu could pick it up. A glint that unexpectedly reassured her.

Tzuyu didn’t say a thing to Nayeon the whole lesson until the end of the day when she asked her to stay after class once again. Sana didn’t even attempt to bother her as she left the room and the lecture hall emptied out once again.

When they were alone, Nayeon giggled. _Giggled_. Tzuyu didn’t think it was allowed for Professors to _giggle_ … it was such a childish thing to hear from someone like Nayeon. Especially because she never thought it would fit her boring personality… It seemed that there was a lot more to her Professor than meets the eye.

“How’d I do?” She asked. “Reckon that will shut her up for a while.”

“Uh… Yeah.” Tzuyu spoke intelligently, watching as Nayeon smiled brightly. It was a smile that reached her eyes so that they lit up her features. Why was she talking so casually?

“She isn’t bothering you outside of class, is she?” She looked up from packing her things.

“Not exactly…” Tzuyu replied. “It’s really not a problem. You don’t have to say anything.”

“As long as you’re alright.” She smiled again. She was smiling a lot today (Tzuyu liked her smile more than she’d like to admit). “Remember, you can come to me about anything.” She reminded and took one of Tzuyu’s hands in her own. Her hands were much bigger than Tzuyu’s despite her smaller stature. They were warm and comforting… why was it that everything about Nayeon had suddenly become comforting?

Tzuyu felt an involuntary smile creep across her own face. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d had someone say something like that to her or hold her hand so reassuringly. Not even Chaeyoung – who was Tzuyu’s best friend in the whole universe – ever did things like this.

“Thanks, Nayeon.” She said. And she didn’t stutter on the name.


	9. A taste of your own medicine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been too long since I updated this, so here is an unedited, drama filled chapter that low key probably makes no sense.

Mina had never in her whole life seen someone who looked more out of place than Im Nayeon in the moments following her exit from the bathrooms. Mina hadn’t meant to snoop, but something just didn’t sit right with her as she walked down the hall to her next tutorial, spotting Nayeon strutting out of the public bathroom just ahead. Mina took the liberty of ducking into a nearby classroom to spy out of a crack between the door and its frame.

It had been a while since she felt such a sense of adventure. She probably hadn’t been so thrilled since her days of skipping class in high school… which was a long time ago, and not a time of her life that she was exactly proud of.

Mina held in her laughter as she watched Nayeon straighten the collar of her polka dotted shirt and peer – almost comically – down each end of the hall. She was wearing her glasses again (she was always wearing them these days… she must be really stressed) and as she bent her body to glare at every door in sight, she pulled down the glasses so that they rested on the very edge of her nose and she could look over the rims.

She looked so ridiculous, that Mina had to physically cover her mouth to prevent herself from giggling out loud.

What the hell was she doing? It was almost as if she was hiding something…

After a few more seconds of exaggerated scanning, Nayeon pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and then lifted an arm to cough unnecessarily loud into her elbow. The sound echoed.

Nayeon’s strange behaviour made sense in the next moment when a second head poked out of the bathroom.

Mina lowered her hand and the initial laughter died in her throat.

Her reaction might have been different if she had seen another colleague step out into the hall to take Nayeon’s hand. If someone like Kim Namjoon or maybe even Kim Chungha it would have been funny. A workplace shenanigan or something of the sort. After all, what else would you do in the bathroom just before classes began?

But neither of the suggested professors stepped out of that bathroom.

“Quick let’s go.” Nayeon spoke, holding her hand out.

“We’ll get caught if I hold your hand.” _Chou Tzuyu_ said, unironically taking her professor’s hand anyway.

Nayeon just smiled at her, a look in her eyes that made Mina’s stomach churn.

“Just until we reach the end of the hall. I’ll miss you after class, so think of this as my goodbye.”

“I’m still annoyed you decided to hold a catch-up tutorial after five… I was going to take you back to my house and show you Gucci.”

“I know, baby.” Nayeon cooed, taking Tzuyu’s other hand and once again glancing around before planting a kiss right on the corner of her mouth, standing on her tiptoes and squeezing her eyes shut as she did so.

Mina’s lower jaw was on the floor.

“I’m sorry. Can I come see Gucci on the weekend? I don’t have anything planned for Saturday…” Her voice was so… cute? Mina almost gagged at the sweetness laced in with her words, but the look on Tzuyu’s face was only one of complete adoration.

“I’d love it if you could come.” She spoke quietly, a blush forming on her cheeks as she looked down at Nayeon’s radiant smile.

“Alright, sweetie, we’ve really got to go now.” Nayeon took a step back, letting her hand catch on Tzuyu’s as she stepped away.

Mina ducked further behind the door as the two walked past her, her chest rising and falling and her head buzzing with adrenaline.

What the hell was Nayeon doing?

***

Tzuyu’s heart felt full as she watched Nayeon from the back of the lecture hall. She still felt flushed from their escapade to the staff bathroom an hour ago and it was impossible to pay attention to the content when her professor – no she had to stop thinking of her like that… it was too _weird_ – when _Nayeon_ was looking so good with her hair in a ponytail and her glasses and her beautiful full lips painted red… The same lips Tzuyu had tasted only moments before…

She shook her head for the nth time, trying to rid herself of the invasive thoughts and instead started to think of how she was going to look after Nayeon at her apartment on Saturday if she had time to come. She leaned her head to rest against her hand and let her thoughts wander.

She was obviously going to show her Gucci. Her chihuahua she had adopted upon her arrival in Korea. She still wasn’t exactly sure if her complex allowed pets… but nobody had called her out yet, so she assumed it was fine. She had even bought him a funny suit outfit that she thought might make Nayeon laugh when she saw it.

She wondered if Nayeon would be okay with eating delivery food… she didn’t have enough money for anything else – her only source of income being the monthly sums sent to her bank account by her parents in order to pay her bills and buy her food. She knew that Nayeon loved to eat tteokbokki and samgyeopsal… where would she find a place that sold that? She was used to eating her 2-minute ramen and convenience store kimbap… but she wanted to make a really good first impression…

Tzuyu’s thoughts and scenarios played out until class was over, and after sharing a secret smile with Nayeon across the room (one that made her feel slightly euphoric), she stood, packing her things and walked toward the exit.

It wasn’t long before Tzuyu’s good mood was shattered.

“Chou.”

It was Sana.

Tzuyu turned to see her, standing at the exit, her arms folded and her expression dark. It had been a while since she had decided to bully Tzuyu now that Nayeon had been sticking up for her whenever she dared open her mouth or look in Tzuyu’s direction, but Tzuyu had never seen such an expression on Sana’s face before.

Her eyelids drooped, her eyes were bloodshot and the skin around her eyes was red and blotchy. She had been crying… for a long time.

“That whole lecture went over your head I see.” Sana commented. Bystanders and people still trying to exit the theatre glanced awkwardly at the pair as they performed what was similar to a classic western stand-off.

Tzuyu tensed at Sana’s words.

“We could all see the way you’ve been looking at Professor Im.” Sana smirked. Tzuyu’s blood ran cold. There was a small crowd around them now.

“We’re not stupid Tzuyu. Haven’t you heard the rumours?”

Of course, she had. She just never thought people really believed them… had she been staring strangely? Had she smiled too widely? Had they seen them together alone? A million thoughts raced around her mind.

“I guess we just never expected sweet little Taiwanese Princess Tzuyu to be bribing the professor for good grades.”

“WHAT?” Tzuyu cried out. A little bit because she was shocked that anyone would think that of her, a little because of course that’s what people would think… and mostly because _they knew_.

She had to do something… _say_ something.

“Funny to hear something as outrageous as that from the girl that fucks the opposing netball team’s captain. If anyone’s bribing for something it’s you, Sana.”

Tzuyu kept her expression neutral and forced the anxious tears she felt coming up behind her lids to stay dormant.

Sana’s tears, however, did not hold back.

She looked as if she wanted to say something else, but her face crumpled before she could do so.

The crowd murmured.

Tzuyu had never seen Sana like this before… so vulnerable… weak… sad… out of control. Her nature told her to ask Sana if she was okay. To check that she was just luring her into a false sense of security only to open her mouth and say something degrading again.

But she didn’t.

She watched for one more moment, listening to the pitiful cries Sana released with her head shamefully buried in her hands, and then she walked away.

She selfishly hoped that everyone had forgotten about what Sana had said about her. She hoped that Sana would become the talk of the university instead of her. She hoped the rumours would fly.

Then maybe she and Nayeon would be safe.


	10. Regretting | Natzu

Nayeon lay awake. She stared at the ceiling. A ceiling that wasn’t her own. Usually Nayeon wasn’t one to regret things. She had always been strong willed; doing the things she wanted to when she wanted and how she wanted.

She had become a professor to spite her parents wishes for her to become a doctor and she never regretted it once. She had a stable income and her parents had eventually found it in them to be proud of her. A win-win situation. Nayeon got to discuss philosophy with thousands of fresh faces and the respect of her parents. No regrets for the few years when her mother had called her a disappointment and her father looked at her like she was a poor lost lamb from a flock.

She had applied for her current job despite her knowledge of it being a spot of high demand, now here she was, years later, safe and sound, the one who was picked out of the many applicants. No, she didn’t regret not applying for anything else.

She didn’t regret coming out to her co-workers as bisexual despite the stigma around the topic in the older age bracket. No regrets from the big weight off her shoulders and the respect she gained from her younger colleagues for standing up and being herself.

Nayeon never regretted any of the decisions she had made in her 32 years of living.

Regretted none but this.

It had taken her a while to see the err in her ways. Three months of hiding away, a conversation with herself in the staff bathroom mirror and this moment right now.

***

~ Two weeks earlier ~

Nayeon looked at herself in the mirror of the staff bathroom. She tied her hair into a tight low ponytail and grimaced. She leaned forward, examining her skin and finding…

“Jesus fucking Christ is that a WRINKLE?” she screeched. It was lucky that nobody else had been in the bathroom at the time or they would have gone deaf at the sound of her screams of horror. Sure enough, Nayeon had spotted a tiny line beside her right eye. To anyone else it would have seemed insignificant, but to Nayeon… that wrinkle meant a lot more.

“I’m not even old! What the hell?” She rubbed her palm against the mark as if to iron it out. It was true. Nayeon was only 32. That was NOT old. Not in the slightest…. Right? 32 isn’t old…

Nayeon stopped rubbing her face and sighed. 32… That number made her feel sick to her stomach. She picked up her glasses from the sink and pushed them up the bridge of her nose with a sigh.

“Nayeon, what is wrong with you?” She asked the mirror, half expecting an answer from her reflection. Something along the lines of:

_I think you’re just way too lonely. You need to go out to a club or something and get a hook up. Find someone like a normal person._

Nayeon let her mind wander to what had transpired only minutes before.

_Tzuyu tucked a strand of Nayeon’s hair behind her ear. Nayeon almost found herself leaning into her hand, wanting more. Tzuyu was sitting in her lap after the lecture that day, her arms wrapped around Nayeon’s neck and her own around Tzuyu’s waist. The position made Nayeon giddy._

_“You forgot your contacts again today.” She smiled that cute dimple appearing on her cheek in all its glory. Nayeon couldn’t help but reach up to touch it. “You look cute with your glasses.” She whispered. And leaned in to touch their lips together. Nayeon’s eyes fluttered shut, relishing in the feeling of the younger’s lips against her own. The kiss was too short, but it still left her breathless._

_“I used to get teased for my glasses.” She whispered when they pulled away._

_“Really?”_

_“Back in high school… I was thirteen. It was a long time ago. That’s why I started to wear contacts.”_

_There was a pause where Tzuyu looked away at the empty theatre._

_“I wonder if I would have been born yet…” It was an innocent thought, her voice light and curious. She meant no harm in saying it… yet it brought a heavy feeling down on Nayeon’s shoulders._

_Tzuyu was 19. Nayeon was 32. A 13-year difference. And Nayeon hated it._

_“It… it doesn’t matter anymore.” She dismissed._

“God, what is wrong with me?”

***

The ceiling that Nayeon was staring at… it was not Chou Tzuyu’s. Nayeon told herself over and over again that it was for the best.

_I’ll walk in tomorrow. I’ll see her and I’ll tell her it’s over._

As Nayeon felt the unknown woman beside her stir in her blissful sleep, she imagined Tzuyu in her place. She closed her eyes and imagined the younger girl curled up beside her, insisting to be the little spoon despite her size. Groaning when Nayeon teased her about it.

_“Just how much milk did your parents make you drink when you were younger?”_

_“Enough.”_

_“Oh, don’t be like that, baby.”_

_“Just shut up and hold me.”_

Nayeon imagined pressing her forehead to Tzuyu’s bare back. She was warm. Her chest slowly expanding and contracting with calm, slow breathing. This. This was how Nayeon wanted to spend the rest of her days. Pressed against Tzuyu’s back. Soaking in her warmth. Pressing her ear close to hear the way her heart thunders at their proximity.

Sometimes Tzuyu would turn around. Turn to look at her with her big brown eyes. They sparkled even in the dark.

_“What?”_

_“You’re… you’re beautiful, unnie.”_

_“Tzuyu, don’t call me that…”_

Her eyes held the universe and Nayeon would gladly lose herself in them forever. Lose herself and never be found again.

_“What am I supposed to call you?”_

Nayeon could imagine her leaning in to kiss her. To kiss her on every conceivable place on her face. She liked to kiss her forehead. She liked to kiss her cheeks. She liked to kiss her eyelids. She liked to kiss her chin. And of course, her lips. Tzuyu’s lips on her own was like nothing she could describe in words.

_“I don’t know… baby? Honey? Darling?”_

When Tzuyu’s lips were on her own, her mind was filled with ‘ _I love you_ ’s. ‘ _I love you_ ’s that she tried to express with her hands and her tongue and her mouth. Because she loved Tzuyu. Loved her more than she thought were possible.

_“Isn’t it weird though? To call you… things like that?”_

She just wished she had the guts to say it.

_“How is it weird?”_

She wished she had the guts to tell her.

_“I just feel like… you’re… um… you’re so much older than me. Isn’t it weird?”_

To tell her that they were never meant for each other.

Not now.

Not ever.

The woman beside Nayeon stirred again.

Nayeon regretted everything.


	11. I really love your smile. | Natzu

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was meant to update this a week ago... sorry to all those who were waiting.  
> I hope you enjoy it :)

“How are things going with Sana? Is she bothering you less?” Nayeon asked, her voice light and curious. She leaned forward against the lectern, looking expectantly at Tzuyu for her reply.

Tzuyu had stayed back after class yet again. She didn’t quite understand how it had started to become a regular occurrence. But she guessed it was Nayeon’s way of checking up on her. She always asked similar questions.

_Is Sana still bothering you?_

_Have you eaten today?_

_How am I doing on my delivery these days? Am I still boring?_

_You look cold! Don’t you have a thicker jumper?_

And yes, Tzuyu noticed the quality of them. Questions maybe a mother would ask her daughter… although, it wasn’t quite like that to Tzuyu. Whenever she found herself in front of her professor after class, watching her pack her things while she talked, there wasn’t anything remotely motherly emanating from the interactions… even if that may have been Nayeon’s intention.

Tzuyu couldn’t help but admire the shape of Nayeon’s lips as she spoke. Her way of pursing them after she finished asking a question, expecting an answer. Her bunny teeth that she couldn’t help but be drawn to every time she smiled. The gentle slope of her nose and the way her glasses perched on it when she wore them. The way her silky hair bounced around the frame of her face with the movement of her head. Sometimes she wore a headband or a clip to hold it out of her eyes and Tzuyu thought it looked (really) pretty. Her long slender fingers and the way they leafed through pamphlets and loose-leaf papers to file into her binder or the delicate movement as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

The way she looked at Tzuyu like she really cared about her answering the questions she asked (no matter how mundane or silly they were) honestly. And the way Tzuyu could see in her expression and her body language that she was sincerely listening when she did reply. She always leaned forward, nodding at her every word, making small noises of acknowledgement intermittently throughout her response.

“Sana’s okay.” She replied. Because she was okay. She hadn’t said much at all after Nayeon had started sticking up for her. She was grateful beyond words for what her professor had done.

“I’m glad.” She nodded, smiling broadly. Tzuyu forced herself to remain pokerfaced despite her heart soaring at the sight of it. She wondered why she felt so elated in the first place. “I hope she grows up a bit soon. Maybe she’s finally found something else to worry about. Like her marks for example.” She grimaced.

Tzuyu nearly burst out in laughter. She didn’t think it was right for Nayeon to speak about her student’s academic achievements in front of another student, but the mere fact that she was comfortable enough to say anything at all was funny and endearing at the same time.

“She’ll get there.” Tzuyu added, unsure of what to add to such a remark, but Nayeon brushed her off, waving a hand in front of her in dismissal.

“Enough about Sana. How are you feeling with the content? Do you need anything clarified or explained again? I’m pretty much free all afternoon to offer my help.”

Tzuyu almost swooned at the effortless way Nayeon managed to offer her help, knowing that she still struggled with Korean, but not making her feel stupid in the way she asked.

“No, I’m okay.” She mumbled, feeling heat grace her cheeks for seemingly no reason and letting her eyes wander the room.

“Alright then. I’ll leave you to it, Tzuyu.” Nayeon gathered her things, just like every afternoon after the lectures, preparing to walk out the door and return to the rest of the day. But today, something tugged at the pit of Tzuyu’s stomach.

Normally she would bow, bid her goodbyes and watch Nayeon leave, but today she walked after her professor, calling out.

“Nayeon-unnie, wait!” She raised a hand as if to grasp her own and Nayeon turned sharply, her eyes curious. “I just wanted to say…”

She swallowed; her mouth suddenly dry.

“I really love your smile.”

Nayeon looked taken aback by the sudden compliment, looking behind her as if Tzuyu might be talking to someone else instead.

“It’s… really pretty. You have r-really c-cute bunny teeth.” Tzuyu rambled, stuttering and slurring her words a little, her face heating up as if she had just taken a slurp of the world’s hottest ramen.

Nayeon’s mouth dropped open slightly and she brought her free hand that wasn’t clutching books to her chest to her mouth, her fingers touching her front teeth in astonishment.

“I–… thank you, Tzuyu.” She whispered. “I’ve always been self-conscious about my smile. Especially my teeth. I was thinking of straightening them–”

“No don’t!” Tzuyu blurted again, tears coming to her eyes at the embarrassment of it all. “Your teeth are cute just how they are. Please don’t straighten them.”

Tzuyu was in a mental war with herself in that moment.

_You fucking idiot who are you to tell your PROFESSOR what she can and can’t do with her teeth?_

_Why the hell are you even complimenting her?_

_What’s with the word cute, huh? She’s much older than you this has GOT to be disrespectful in one way or another. Watch your tongue!_

But Nayeon’s voice cut through the crazed arguments in her head with a simple phrase.

“It means a lot to hear that from you. Thank you.” And she smiled the biggest and brightest smile Tzuyu had ever witnessed. She was blinded; stunned for a moment. But the smile wasn’t the only thing Nayeon decided to leave her with.

“I love the dimple that appears on your left cheek when you smile. You should smile more often. It suits you.”

Tzuyu couldn’t function correctly for the rest of that day.

She vaguely remembered leaving the theatre after Nayeon, finding Chaeyoung and collapsing in her arms. She burst into tears and wailed as thoughts of Nayeon crowded in her mind.

_I love the dimple that appears on your left cheek when you smile._

Nayeon loved her dimple?

_You should smile more often. It suits you._

She liked her smile?

Tzuyu had no idea what to do with that information, so she cried. She cried because of Nayeon’s compliments, but mostly because of her own. What if Nayeon thought she was weird now? Because she said all those things. Because she sounded so pathetically desperate when she asked her not to straighten her teeth.

She let out a strangled sob into Chaeyoung’s shoulder. The girl’s eyes widened, and she tensed at the sound.

“Are you… okay?” Chaeyoung questioned. She cursed herself inwardly for the most ridiculous question she could have ever asked in the history of ridiculous questions. Tzuyu was bawling her eyes out and soaking her tears through Chaeyoung’s t-shirt and she was asking if she was “okay”?

_Fucking idiot. Of COURSE, she’s not okay!_

Tzuyu cried for another seven whole minutes. She cried until her eyes hurt and her eyes no longer wished to produce tears. She cried until her body felt tired and stiff. She cried until she realised how silly it was to cry about such a thing and she pulled away from her best friend’s embrace to wipe her eyes and take a deep breath.

_Nayeon complimented you. Why are you crying?_

_You can apologise for acting so weird tomorrow after the lecture._

_You better not let Sana see you like this, or she’ll give you hell._

_Man up._ She told herself.

“Tzuyu… what the hell was that? Did Sana say something?” Chaeyoung’s eyes were wide with concern.

Oh, it’s nothing. Just that my (favourite) professor was being so incredibly (cute) respectful and she complimented me and I have no idea how to process such information (because everything she says makes my heart race for some reason) and I accidentally (complimented her smile) acted really strange in front of her and she probably thinks I’m super weird now.

“Oh no. It’s just that… my professor…” For a second, Tzuyu contemplated telling Chaeyoung the strange events of that afternoon. But she swallowed, thinking of the way Nayeon looked at her as she left the room.

She wanted to keep that memory all to herself.

“My professor told me I did poorly on a test. That’s all. Thank you for putting up with me.”


	12. Girlfriend

The world was ending. Sana’s world was ending. Crumbling out from beneath her. Dropping off into an endlessly deep ocean; out of control.

The whole entire university was calling her a slut. She couldn’t take a step through the halls without hearing the whispers of the people she passed. Couldn’t walk anywhere without blatant stares.

Her netball team were acting like she was an abusive dictator. Like anything she asked must be done or she would hurt them in some way. Yeri hadn’t looked her in the eye for what seemed like years and she couldn’t tell if it was because she was embarrassed of her or guilty for what she had said a few weeks ago. It didn’t really matter either way.

Jihyo wasn’t really talking to her anymore either. It hurt to see her during netball practices, acting professional and then her making excuses to leave whenever they bumped into each other anywhere else. She never thought that Jihyo… of all people… of all her friends would believe any of the rumours going around about her. Obviously, she was just as easily phased.

Jeongyeon and her had never been particularly close and Chaeyoung had always avoided her like the plague, but even they were seen less and less as the days went by and the rumours began to twist.

Momo… whenever Sana thought about Momo, she wanted to cry. So, she didn’t let herself think about her anymore.

Instead she filled the empty place in her mind and heart with her hatred for the person who started it all.

Chou Tzuyu.

Sana didn’t really have a specific reason for bullying Tzuyu. Tzuyu had done nothing to her (until a few weeks ago… but she guessed she deserved it after everything). Maybe it’s because she appeared at university at around the same time, she and Momo had started… fucking (it hadn’t been more than fucking. Had it?). A beautiful foreign princess.

Sana would be lying if she had said she wasn’t blown away by Tzuyu’s beauty. And maybe she had been so in love with Momo and so afraid of losing her. And maybe Momo had complimented Tzuyu and told her she was pretty (as anyone would have, because she was, and is, very beautiful). And maybe Tzuyu decided that any little thing that took Momo’s attention away from her was bad.

So, she tried to fuck Momo better and ruin Tzuyu’s life, because Momo had only just become hers and she wasn’t about to lose her. She picked on Tzuyu’s accent, she poked fun at what she wore, she occasionally defaced her textbooks she tried her hardest to tell Tzuyu to STAY AWAY.

And of course, though all this, Tzuyu was nothing but an angel. Ignoring Sana’s antics, continuing on like it was nothing. It frustrated Sana to the ends of the earth. How could someone be so calm and collected when someone was analysing them from head to toe, pointing out every small insecurity and imperfection? Sana had admired Tzuyu from the start.

Now that everything was going to shit, Sana had once again tried to stir the pot with the girl. Sana hated herself for it, but she told herself she hated Tzuyu.

She used that stupid rumour against her. The one that said she was dating Professor Im. It was ridiculous and that is exactly why Sana chose to run with it. She had hoped to make Tzuyu cry. To watch someone else fall apart instead of herself. To watch someone else cry and deny and cringe away instead of herself.

_“If anyone’s bribing for something it’s you, Sana.”_

A simple sentence from Tzuyu was all it took for her to break. It was true. Sana had spent every day of her life since the day she had seen Momo bribing and gambling her way into her arms. But of course, she had lost much more than she gained.

It was easier just to blame everything on Tzuyu. So that’s exactly what she did.

So, when she saw Tzuyu on her way to her Psych lecture, she lost it. Tzuyu was with Momo. Talking like nothing in the world was wrong. Sana could change that with a single snap of her fingers.

“The fuck are you doing, Chou. GET AWAY FROM MY GIRLFRIEND!”

***

Tzuyu was feeling anxious as the hours of the day wore on. She hadn’t seen Nayeon all day… and they usually met early in the mornings for coffee on the days they didn’t see each other in lectures. But today, she had called to tell her something came up and she couldn’t come.

_“I’m sorry, Tzuyu.” Her voice sounded tired; strained with a heavy emotion that Tzuyu wasn’t sure she was familiar with. “I’ve just got so much on today... things are popping up left and right… work’s a mess right now.” She sighed._

_Tzuyu had never heard so many excuses before. She never usually used excuses. She never usually sounded this tired._

_“Oh.” Tzuyu didn’t quite know what to say. She was already on the bus on the way to their usual café. She felt pained to hear Nayeon sound so… defeated. “That’s okay, unnie. Things happen.”_

_She noticed Nayeon’s sharp intake of breath at her use of the word ‘unnie’. She had always been rather touchy about Tzuyu’s use of it, insisting again and again that she not use the word with her, but Tzuyu didn’t quite understand. It seemed weirder not to use it._

_“I’ve got to go.” Nayeon’s tone was so low and defeated that it felt like a physical stab to Tzuyu’s own chest. “I… I…” Nayeon started to say something, before breaking off with another sigh. “I’ll see you at lunch?”_

_“Okay.” She replied before Nayeon ended the call._

It was nearing lunch, and Tzuyu was starting to prepare to make her way across campus to the library where Nayeon and her often met before leaving and eating off the premises. She wondered if she should ask her what was going through her mind this morning? She wondered if it would be better to distract her by buying her favourite foods and drinks instead. Maybe she would ease her mind by reminding her of the times just a few months ago that they would spend together in the lecture hall after class. Nayeon always liked to reminisce on those sorts of things. Tzuyu liked to too. Especially because all those moments were with Nayeon.

She stood from her seat at the park bench outside her Korean tutorial room and slung her backpack over her shoulder and started to run through the things she would ask and tell Nayeon when they met up.

_Nayeon, you look so pretty!_

_I have some money saved up from last week. Do you want me to buy you some bubble tea?_

_I love you!_

The truth was, Tzuyu had never said ‘I love you’ to Nayeon. Not once. She knew she would have to at some point. She would have to soon or it would probably burst from her chest unannounced. And for some reason Tzuyu had it in her head that saying ‘I love you’ for the first time should be special and sacred and beautiful. And that time just hadn’t come yet. She just hoped that she wouldn’t accidentally blurt it out when they met up this afternoon… that would be super awkward.

She checked the time on her phone. 12:35. Time to get going. Nayeon came out of her lectures in ten minutes and took five minutes to walk to the library. She wanted to be there on time and not waste any more of her day feeling restless and anxious without her.

She shot a quick text to Chaeyoung letting her know where she would be so she wouldn’t get worried when she didn’t see her at lunch with Dahyun and the others later on and began to walk to the other side of campus.

Something was off. Tzuyu thought as she strode along. Something was… weird.

She looked ahead and saw Heechul and Momo, talking together in the courtyard next to the café out the front of the library. Their discussion seemed serious until Momo stood on her toes to kiss the older man on his cheek before parting ways, Momo’s eyes turning down to look at the screen of her phone.

Tzuyu had a few minutes before meeting with Nayeon, so she decided to catch up with the girl. She couldn’t remember a time when they had just sat down together to chat recently… mostly because Sana had been in the way. But now that she seemed to be out of the picture, they might have a chance to catch up.

_Maybe that explains Sana’s foul mood recently…_

“Momo-unnie!” Tzuyu called as she approached, waving her hand. The older girl looked up; a huge smile immediately painted across her features.

“Tzuyu-ah!” She ran up to her, pocketing her phone and flinging her arms around Tzuyu’s neck. After what seemed like five minutes of strangling, Momo pulled away, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. “I feel like it’s been years since we’ve last seen each other.”

Tzuyu chuckled.

“It really does. What’s been going on lately?”

Momo smiled excitedly at the question.

“Well, I’ve been practicing with my team for the final game in two weeks. That’s been going really well. Oh! And I’ve finally managed to hand in an assignment on time for the first time this semester!” She rambled for a while about school achievements (not failing) and her concerns for the upcoming finals and the netball game and then something seemed to dawn on her features.

“Ah!” She exclaimed and grasped Tzuyu’s hand. “I keep forgetting to tell everyone, but…” She paused for dramatic effect; her eyes gleaming. “I’ve got a boyfriend now! Kim Heechul. I don’t know if you know him or not. He’s a law student I met at an anime club meeting!”

“Congrats, unnie. Proud of you!” For one moment, Tzuyu wondered what it would be like to tell Momo, just as excitedly about Nayeon.

_I have someone too, Momo-unnie! A girlfriend. Im Nayeon, my professor!_

It didn’t have the same… _ring_ to it. And besides. Nayeon and her had never decided on anything fully committing like that… yet (would they ever?). She could _never_ tell her friends about Nayeon.

“We haven’t gone on too many dates yet, but he’s really kind and respectful and wonderful…” She gushed, a pink hue colouring her cheeks. “He’s literally the perfect guy. I wish I had found him earlier.”

“What about Sana?” Tzuyu asked, because she really just wanted to know. Momo’s expression softened and darkened slightly. She opened her mouth to answer but was suddenly interrupted by a yell across the courtyard.

“The fuck are you doing, Chou. GET AWAY FROM MY GIRLFRIEND!”

Tzuyu turned around only to meet with the fist of her arch nemesis right in her right eye. She fell back, clutching her head, the shock of the situation overpowering the pain she felt in that moment. She looked up, her hand still over her eye. All her books and papers were strewn all over the floor. She mustn’t have zipped up her bag properly.

Sana stood over her; her expression devoid of any sanity. Tears streamed down her face and her own bag lay discarded to the side. Her fists were clenched. The one that had come in contact with Tzuyu’s face had red knuckles.

“WHAT ARE YOU TRYN’A DO?” She screamed and lunged at her again, tackling her down and taking another hit to her nose. A splatter of hot liquid fell down Tzuyu’s chin and she tried in vain to lift her hands to protect her head and scramble away from Sana’s grip.

There was a steady crowd building around the pair as they scuffled. Phones were out. People were shouting but Tzuyu could barely process any of it.

“SANA!” a voice cut through the commotion.

Sana paused mid-punch to look. Because the person who had called her… it was Momo. She hadn’t heard her name fall from Momo’s lips in such a long time.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Sana looked up at Momo from her place on the floor. She looked down at her… disgusted… embarrassed.

“Get off her and stand up.” She commanded. So, Sana did. Because she would do anything for Momo.

“I don’t know what the fuck has been up your ass, Sana, but Tzuyu has done nothing to me or you. Nothing at all. Why do you hate her? On what grounds? Jealousy? If so, that is petty and childish.” She paused her eyes searing through Sana’s own. She had never seen her this angry before.

“And I don’t know what you thought about us back then, Sana. I really don’t know.” She sighed, bringing a hand to her forehead. “I thought I had always been clear with you. I was NEVER your girlfriend. You have no right to claim me as such.”

She reached down to help Tzuyu off the ground, muttering to her softly, asking if she was okay and gathering her books off the ground and once she was sure she was okay and everything was in its place once again, she turned to Sana for the last time.

“So, leave us alone. Leave Tzuyu alone and leave me and Heechul alone too. Grow a pair and move on.”

Sana didn’t want to listen, but all of a sudden Momo’s words endlessly echoed in her head.

_Grow a pair and move on._

“WHAT’S GOING ON.” A voice pushed through the crowd. Professor Myoui and Professor Im.


End file.
